


Fixing a Wrong

by Master_Magician



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Master_Magician/pseuds/Master_Magician
Summary: Ooh, Jessie let Barret have it, alright. She owed Cloud her life and wasn't about to take someone insulting the man lying down. Just because Cloud wasn't allowed within their secret hideout, something else that rubbed Jessie the wrong way, doesn't mean he shouldn't have someone sticking up for him.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 75





	Fixing a Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Here's another work featuring Jessie for everyone. Though I appolgize for Biggs and Wedge having minor roles here. Once again, not really a shippy story, but you could imagine it is a little Jessie/Cloud if you want to see it that way.
> 
> Enjoy.

This wasn't right, not at all, and Jessie didn't know what to do about it.

As much as Jessie respected their leader, he was making the wrong call this time. She hadn't been subtle about it when she called him out on it, either. Not that it really mattered, Barret was unmovable as a stone wall when he set his mind to something.

Everyone else, even Tifa, shockingly enough, had blindly accepted Barret's word. They didn't need Cloud and his expensive fee to pull the next bombing mission off, they would be just fine on their own.

Jessie straight up called him out on the lie. It wasn't that Cloud was expensive, he was, sure, but the man was worth every gil and then some. He could have been charging double and still would have been worth the pay! No, Barret's reasoning was less logical than that.

'I don't trust 'em,' Barret had said. Cloud was the whole reason their mission hadn't gone to hell in a chocobo cart, saved Jessie's life, and cleared Public Security from the train station so they could have a clear avenue of escape. The last one causing him to miss the train himself and having to board it while it sped past, something she wasn't sure if any of them would have dared to try.

Jessie fell twice during the bombing mission, and twice Cloud rushed to check on her. While Jessie didn't like appearing like the damsel in distress, it was still a noble gesture on his part. He could have left her and kept running to save his own skin, both times, and nobody would have been surprised with the way the reactor was going up.

After all, as Barret pointed out, Cloud was just a merc they'd hired, he was not one of their group. But leaving a man behind was not in Cloud's character, Jessie had already figured that out in the first, and so far only, mission they'd worked together.

The second time Cloud stopped would have been the end of him if he hadn't done that super cool SOLDIER jumping thing. Had Cloud been an ordinary person like Biggs or herself, he would have died right then and there, fallen to his death with nobody but Jessie to see and attempt a futile rescue, and it would have been simply because he stopped to make sure she was alright.

Yet, Barret still refused to treat the man with any respect. Sure, Cloud's aloof and standoffish demeanor didn't do the man any favors, but Jessie had been around people enough to know when what she was seeing was an act. The whole tough-guy persona surely helped when it came to merc work, but he didn't need to act that way around them. Cloud just had to see he could be himself when he was with them, something Barret wasn't making him feel welcome enough to do so.

Ooh, Jessie let Barret have it, alright. She owed Cloud her life and wasn't about to take someone insulting the man lying down. Just because Cloud wasn't allowed within their secret hideout, something else that rubbed Jessie the wrong way, doesn't mean he shouldn't have someone sticking up for him.

In all honestly, Jessie was shocked she was the one doing it and not Tifa. She was the whole reason they recruited Cloud in the first place, after all. But Tifa had her own problems to raise with Barret, so Jessie didn't fault her for not defending her childhood friend. That just meant Jessie would do it herself.

Unfortunately, Barret's stubbornness was the stuff of nightmares and legends. The leader of Avalanche refused to budge even an inch. Jessie would have pressed further, but she didn't have any more ammunition to plead Cloud's case. Every little bit she had was simply brushed off.

They didn't want to put too much on Cloud. That was what Jessie had told the SOLDIER after their meeting he was barred from was over. The excuse felt lame, even to her own ears, but it was better than telling Cloud that he wasn't allowed just because Barret didn't like him. Hopefully, she would be able to make it up to him, provided he didn't leave forever.

Jessie tried to enjoy the celebrations with her fellow Avalanche members, but it just felt hollow. Cloud should be here with them, he was instrumental in the mission, after all. But Barret practically threw the man out while they all sat around drinking, toasting, and cheering.

There was drinking, toasting, and cheering, alright. The 'good stuff' they drank was like ash in Jessie's mouth, the toasts were to the wrong people, and Jessie could barely bring herself to raise her voice, let alone cheer.

Wrong.

This was all wrong, on so many levels.

Jessie didn't think she'd ever forget how Cloud sat there at the bar for a few long moments. He just stared down at the glass on the bar counter in front of him, his shoulders slumped. In that moment, Jessie could see the cracks in that tough SOLDIER persona he'd built around himself. He wanted to be included, but wasn't being allowed to.

Jessie doubted Cloud was a hugger, but the man looked like he could really use one right now.

To make matters worse, so committed to his persona he was, Cloud adamantly refused to show any weakness or vulnerability. No doubt he would just wordlessly walk out the door, and maybe right out of their lives right then and there. Never to be seen again.

To Jessie's surprise, and somewhat relief, Cloud actually did stop before he left to say something to Tifa. It was hard to tell over whatever Wedge was saying, but Jessie caught.

"Guess I'll see you around." Cloud was saying goodbye to Tifa, his childhood friend and the one who convinced them to hire him.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I really need to spend some time with the gang." Tifa dismissed Cloud, not even deigning to look at him. "You were saying, Barret?"

The same Barret that was currently glaring daggers at a crestfallen Cloud.

"Wow. What a friend." First, Jessie's jaw nearly hit the floor, then she was snarling under her breath, her blood almost boiling.

"I know, right, Jess?" Whatever story Wedge was telling Jessie hadn't even been paying the slightest bit of attention to, neither did Wedge catch the rage in Jessie's tone.

Jessie put on her finest fake smile, pretending she was listening and that her anger wasn't building.

From the corner of her eye, Jessie caught the hurt look on Cloud's face. It existed for a fraction of a second before it vanished back beneath his veil of stoicism. It didn't last long, but it was long enough for it to feel like somebody whacked Jessie's gut with a hammer.

This was wrong.

Cloud had every right to say no, and he was probably going to, but Jessie wanted to extend the offer anyway, Barret be damned. He deserved more, but it was the best Jessie could give, and by god she was going to give it.

Jessie turned in her seat to look at Cloud, but the man was already going out the door. For a brief moment, Jessie considered calling for him, telling him he could come back and take a seat right beside her and Biggs. If anyone complained, she'd tell them exactly where to shove it.

Jessie realized, as Avalanche celebrated, just how out of place Cloud would have felt among them. Maybe it was for the best he didn't stay, but it was still unfair and cruel to just be shoved out like that. Why not just pop off a couple rounds into him on the way out, literally kick him a few times, maybe that would have been a hair less nasty.

That was it!

"Hey, where you goin', Jess?" Biggs called after her, but Jess didn't bother even looking back.

"Gotta run a quick errand I forgot about. Nothing major." Jessie lied through her teeth, hand waving over her shoulder. "Don't wait up!"

Shoot, Jessie hadn't even thought about where Cloud might have gone. There was his apartment where Tifa said she was going to set him up with over at Stargazer Heights, but that's assuming he didn't just go looking for more work before the sun went down.

Stargazer Heights, first, then Jessie would have to just look around or ask about him. Luckily for her, he kinda stood out in a crowd what with his massive sword and spiky blonde hair.

So much so, that Jessie found him almost immediately after leaving Seventh Heaven.

More worrying was the company Cloud was in.

There was no mistaking the dragon symbol of the men's backs. While Wall Market in sector 6 wasn't that far away, it was still odd for Don Corneo's men to be here in sector 7. Stranger still was the question of what Cloud was doing with them.

Cloud still had his sword, his hands weren't bound, neither were they pushing or shoving on him to move. He had to be going of his own free will, but the four men walked in a tight formation with the SOLDIER in the middle.

Something wasn't right here, Jessie could feel it.

If Jessie didn't know better, and she wasn't sure yet if she did, it almost looked like they were looking for some private corner away from prying eyes. Judging by the direction they were heading, that is exactly what they were about to get.

Jessie didn't like what she was seeing one bit.

"No clue what's goin' on, but I'm right behind ya, Cloud." Jessie whispered as she broke into a sprint. She knew the place they were going. If she hurried, she might be able to reach a decent vantage point in time.

Jessie was right, they were heading right to that back alley clearing she suspected. From her position, she had a perfect view of the whole place. Especially the SOLDIER facing down four men reaching for their weapons.

Corneo's henchmen hadn't drawn yet, but their hands were too close for Jessie's liking. Her own gun was already out, leveled at one of the men in back. In all honesty, Cloud could probably take these four chumps without breaking a sweat, still, the weight of the weapon in her hand was more a comfort for herself than anything.

If it did come to a fight, Cloud wasn't fighting alone.

"You know where the bastard's hiding, don't you?" The man in front of the hoodlums, probably their leader, spoke.

"I told you before, that depends." Cloud turned back around to face the group. His hands were not reaching for his sword, yet, but Jessie had a feeling he was preparing to do so.

Who was it these guys were looking for? And why did they think Cloud knew?

"Oh yeah? You wastin' my time?

"Shinra's time, you mean?"

Shinra? Ah, so Cloud really didn't know these were Don Corneo's lackeys, not Shinra's. If Cloud knew anything about the slums, he wouldn't have made that little mistaken observation. Still, it didn't exactly answer any of Jessie's questions.

Just then, the men did draw weapons, except for Cloud. It took most of Jessie's willpower not to pull her trigger right then and there. If Cloud wasn't rushing to fight, he must have had a reason to. She just wished she knew what it might be!

"Shinra knows better than to stick it's nose in my boss' business." The head moron, quite stupidly, held up his small knife like it was so much of a better weapon than that huge sword resting across Cloud's back.

It wasn't bringing a knife to a gunfight, more like brining a knife to a sword fight, but still really dumb. The kind of dumbness that life had a way of fixing really quick.

"Like I give a shit." Out came the buster sword.

Jessie didn't even have a chance to pull her trigger before Cloud shot forward impossibly fast. A single swing of that giant sword of his caught two of the men in the abdomen, knocking them clear off their feet and sending them sprawling to the ground. A third only just now got his gun raised but not in time before a flick of Cloud's wrist sent a small ball of flame right into his, now burning, face.

"Big man with a big gun for an arm, right?" Cloud brought his sword back up, stoically advancing on the final man, the same one he'd been speaking to.

Big man with a gun for an arm? Jessie's eyes went wide in realization. Corneo's men were searching for Barret! Nobody else in all of Midgar could match that description. This new piece of information just raised further questions, such as why would they want him?

Unless, Corneo was being paid by Shinra. That would make a lot more sense.

"Hey… man…" The man slowly backed away, but not without glancing down at his meager knife and no doubt inwardly cringing the hardest he'd ever done.

"Why do you want him?" Cloud's voice was flat and icy.

"Just a grunt following orders, you know? Nobody tells me shit." The man tried to talk his way out, but from the look on Cloud's face, the SOLDIER was having none of it.

Hopefully for his sake, he started singing some useful information.

"Lemme go, please." The man tried one last attempt at mercy, but realized pretty quickly Cloud was fresh out.

Making one last suicidal charge, the man rushed Cloud, and got swatted like a fly for his trouble.

"So, if they weren't Shinra, then…" Cloud gave one last look at the bodies before shaking his head and leaving them to rot. "Not my problem."

Good thing Jessie was still hiding, because she was utterly speechless. Cloud owed Avalanche nothing anymore, especially after they just threw him out. He owed Barret even less, and yet, what does the SOLDIER do?

Refuse to give anything and kills the lot of them before they were even a threat Avalanche would have to deal with.

This just added further proof to Jessie's theory that beneath that stony and stoic SOLDIER exterior, there was a good man in there somewhere, just buried. Maybe Jessie could try to dig him out of the hole if she could get some more one-on-one time with him.

Too bad Barret adamantly refused to hire Cloud again for their next big mission. What would it take to convince their fearless leader? Would one of them have to be severely hurt to make him swallow his pride and admit Cloud wasn't the evil monster he wanted him so badly to be?

Hmm… one-on-one time… Jessie's mental wheels were already turning. She did have a mission planned, an unsanctioned and off the books mission that Cloud would be the perfect help for. She originally planned to go alone, but experienced company would be nice, and she could work on digging away at that hole at the same time.

Win-win!

"Lesson one for life on the ground floor… get some rest." Cloud sighed and began making his way back the direction he and Corneo's men came from.

Jessie made a mental note to let the watch know about the bodies first chance she got so they could be cleaned up. Last thing they needed was more monsters being accidentally lured in by fresh blood.

While Cloud had to take the long route around, Jessie wasn't too far away so she was easily able to reach Stargazer heights before her soon-to-be-partner. Now all she had to do was work on her sales pitch in the few minutes she had to wait outside his door.

No doubt Cloud would want some kind of payment, but Jessie wasn't exactly swimming in gil these days. She'd prefer just to ask him to come along, but she knew better. She was going to have to work at that mercenary exterior, and that meant playing by his rules, at least for now.

Now about that payment…

Gil was out of the question, but Jessie did have something else in mind, albeit a bit unorthodox.

Checking around to make sure no one was looking, Jessie produced a red materia orb from one of her pockets. Bouncing the item in her hand, Jessie mulled over her options.

She'd 'liberated' the thing on a mission a while back, but hadn't been able to do anything with it. Summoning materia, while powerful, wasn't exactly something every chump off the street could use. It took a certain degree of strength, something Jessie apparently lacked, and she wasn't sure about the rest of her team. The orb always sold for a fortune, but again, not everyone could use it, so finding a buyer was a difficult task. One could always ask Shinra, but that was out of the question for obvious reasons, plus they'd probably just take it by force anyway.

Sure, not everyone could use it, but Jessie had a sneaky suspicion a SOLDIER was not just everyone.

"This should at least get his attention." Jessie nodded in approval to herself.

Just then, Jessie saw Cloud approaching and quickly stuffed the materia orb back into her pocket and took a few steady breaths. He was going to say yes, she was sure of it!

"Welcome home, honey! Took your sweet time!"

**Author's Note:**

> That scene in the bar where everyone (even Tifa) was super dismissive of Cloud and practically threw him out kinda bugged me. The fact that Jessie was a bit nicer about the whole thing and apologetic made me like her character even more. But honestly, I expected Tifa to be the one doing that. Let me know what you all think! And if anyone has suggestions on works they'd like to see, I'd love to hear them. I'm going to run out of ideas, eventually. Hopefully, many more stories from now.


End file.
